1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to computer game systems and, more particularly, to a computer game system for use on a network, with software playing objects which persist between instantiations of a game and/or from one game to another.
2. Description of Related Art
A. Playing Objects
1. Specific to Game, Multiple Sessions
Many different kinds of games today are played using playing objects of one kind or another. In many cases, these playing objects are specific to the game being played. For example, the game of Monopoly(copyright) (Milton Bradley) is played using playing objects such as player tokens, xe2x80x9cChancexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cOpportunityxe2x80x9d cards, property cards, houses and hotels. These playing objects are usable only in the game of Monopoly (including various versions thereof). Other games are available which take off from the theme of the original Monopoly game, but such games typically provide their own playing objects which may or may not look and operate in the same way as the original Monopoly game playing objects. The playing objects used in a particular session or instantiation of the game of monopoly are typically reused in the next session or instantiation of the game, and are therefore considered herein to xe2x80x9cpersistxe2x80x9d from one instantiation or session to the next.
2. Multiple-Game Objects
Many games do exist which use a certain set of playing objects which persist from instantiation to instantiation of the game, and also are usable in different games. Card games, using an ordinary 52-card deck, are the most common examples of these kinds of games. The same playing objects, namely the cards, are reused in different sessions of a given game, as well as in different games. Another example involves the set of games Go, Gomoku and Othello, all of which can be played using a single set of tiles.
3. Expansion Objects Separate From Game
Some games, whose playing objects are game-specific, can be played using playing objects that were not provided with the original game product. For example, the game xe2x80x9cCosmic Encounterxe2x80x9d by Mayfair Games is sold with a set of cards for use in the game. The publisher also sells several expansion sets of cards, which can also be used in the same game. A number of other card games and board games exist which include a set of playing objects sold with the product, but then have additional card sets created for them.
4. Look And Feel
In some cases, when a particular playing object is usable in more than one game, the same playing object is used within all games. For example, a physical tile used in Go is the same as a tile used in a game of Othello. Thus, if a physical tile is considered to have any look or feel, it remains unchanged.
In other cases, the rules of a game give a different look and feel or value to an identical playing object. For example, an ace might be xe2x80x9chighxe2x80x9d in one card game and xe2x80x9clowxe2x80x9d in another card game.
5. Object With Value Outside Game
The game of xe2x80x9cMagic: The Gatheringxe2x80x9d, (published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., Renton, Wash.), is a game in which players battle each other using decks of cards which they can own and bring to a match. These playing cards can have a value outside of the game, for a number of reasons, including the following reasons. First, they have art work and fantasy text which render them collectible. Second, each user makes up his or her own deck for use in a particular session of the game, and can select cards which give the player a perceived advantage. Third, the publisher may publish fewer numbers of certain cards. As a result of the intrinsic value of Magic playing cards outside of the game, these cards are often wagered in games and/or sold or traded to other players outside of the game playing setting.
6. Modification Of Character During Game
A fantasy role-playing game is xe2x80x9cDungeons and Dragonsxe2x80x9d, by TSR. At the beginning of a game session, each player creates a character to role play having various attributes such as strength, speed, weapons, and so on. The characters are affected by events that take place during the game session; for example, they can gain wealth by picking up a treasure.
B. Computer Games
Many card games and board games are also available as computer games. For example, game software can be found for the games of chess, checkers, poker, Monopoly, and so on. Other computer games do use game-specific playing objects which persist from session to session of the game. For example, in the game xe2x80x9cJohn Madden Footballxe2x80x9d, published by Electronic Arts, San Mateo, Calif., the data about individual football players is provided on a disk. This data persists through different sessions of the game, and can even change over time due to game play. For example, if a football player is injured in one session of the game, that injury affects the conduct of the player in subsequent sessions. The data sold with one version of the game can usually be used in earlier versions of the same game (i.e., data is backward compatible).
C. Network Games
With the advent of networking and the Internet, games played via a computer network have become available. One class of such games is xe2x80x9cMulti-User Dungeonxe2x80x9d, also known as MUDs. MUDs are typically text-based fantasy role-playing games, similar to Dungeons and Dragons. Players for the most part interact with each other, but can also interact with a virtual environment. A character and its attributes persist from session to session of the game, during one instantiation of the game. For example, a player may play a MUD for an hour, gaining certain experience or weapons for the player""s character. The player may then log out for a while and resume the next day in the same instantiation of the same MUD game. In some cases, the character may still have its experience and weapons gained during the player""s prior session. Objects can be transferred from one player to another during game play. For example, one player can have his or her character drop a weapon that the character acquired previously in the same instantiation of the game, and another character can later find it and pick it up.
Interactive games over a network may have software for much of the graphics stored on a user""s local memory, while communications over the network are used for interaction with a central server or other user for the remaining graphics, such as an opposing player. A number of different modes of communication can be used. For instance, currently Internet games use E-mail, Telnet (text based) and Internet Relay Chat.
The present invention provides for the mapping of playing objects from one game to another. In one embodiment, generic attributes (DNA) of an object may be mapped to game-specific attributes. The mapping may either change or preferably maintain the integrity, including the look and feel of an object. For example, a fast but lightly-armed starship in one game may be mapped to a quick but weak warrior in another game.
In one embodiment, the mapping function scales particular attributes according to an importance coefficient for a particular game. For example, speed may be the most important attribute in a race car game, while strength is most important in a boxing game. The attributes are also normalized, to maintain the overall value which may be distorted by scaling. Generic attributes are assigned numeric values, and are mapped to corresponding attributes in a game-specific object. Where there is no corresponding generic attribute, a default, average value, or other mechanism may be used to generate the attribute. Thus the mapping function of the DNA attributes allows for both forward and backward capability.
In one embodiment, the playing objects have an existence and value outside of any individual game. Utility programs can allow viewing of an object and its various mappings or transformations into game specific objects. The playing object could be used in other programs, such as a screen saver or as audio/visual addressing in e-mail messages, for example. Modification of a playing object either inside or outside of a game may be done by mutation, replication, recombination, etc.
The invention may be implemented independent of an electronic network, or using a network. Preferably, a central database maintains a register of playing objects and the users that own them. User Ids are assigned to playing objects to allow verification of ownership. A marketplace program allows the trading of playing objects among users, or the acquisition of new playing objects from a central authority. The marketplace program allows users to barter and acquire playing objects, and registers the results of the transactions in the central database by modifying the associated user Ids.
In yet another aspect, the system is programmed to allow a user to select a subset (or deck) of his or her playing objects for use in a particular game instantiation. Some playing objects are provided with certain predefined or dynamic exclusion criteria which limits their use in certain game instantiations or sessions. For example, playing objects can be provided with an expiration date, or expire after a predetermined number of uses, or slowly lose a specific attribute, such as strength, or be made usable only weekly, and so on.
In yet another aspect, playing objects are persistently modified over time. Such modifications can arise either through game play, or by on-line acquisition of improvements, or by another mechanism.